Breeding Technician

JOB SUMMARY: This position works closely with the project leaders to develop state-of-the-art propriety vegetable crop products for Sakata Seed America. The breeding technician performs a variety of tasks applicable to plant breeding, including sowing, transplanting, crop maintenance, sanitation, pollinating, harvesting, evaluating, and record keeping. The breeding technician is encouraged explore new techniques and ideas to continually improve our processes and ultimately, our crop products.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES*:

• Maintains greenhouse plants for the Brassica breeding projects. Duties include sowing, thinning, watering, digging, fertilizer application, and daily examination for insect and fungus problems. Maintains good control of greenhouse growing conditions throughout the life of the crop.
• Assists with the greenhouse pollination program for the Brassica breeding projects. Ensures that manipulation and pollination is done at the appropriate times and without undue injury to the plants.
• Assists project leaders in hybrid evaluations and inbred line selections. Assists with trial record keeping, data entry, and analysis.
• Prepares, packages, and labels all outgoing seeds for dealer samples, all internal and external trials, and pathology tests. Maintains orderly inventory in the seed room and reorganizes it as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

OTHER DUTIES:

• Purchases supplies with cost-consciousness.
• Participates in the on-station weekend watering rotation.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of basic horticulture, biology, or microbiology; desire to increase and improve knowledge of plant genetics.
• Must have excellent manual dexterity, spatial perception, and visual discrimination.
• Bilingual in Spanish a plus.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Associate degree in horticulture or related field. Bachelor’s degree in horticulture or related field preferred.
• Minimum one-year experience in horticulture or related area performed.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

• Current and valid Driver’s license required.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Must be able to work under different weather conditions such as extremes of temperature, dampness and rain.
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time.
• Must maintain accuracy and efficiency while performing tedious tasks.
• Must be able to work with chemicals and other irritating substances.
• Must be willing and able to bear personal protective gear when required and/or necessary.
• Must be able to lift up to 30 pounds on a regular basis.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: $19.65-$24.55 per hour
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance coverage for employees and their families
• Basic Life & AD&D Insurance
• 401k program with company match
• Profit Sharing program (via 401k)
• Holiday & Performance Incentive Bonus program
• Paid Vacation: 10 days per year to start, increases with tenure
• Sick Leave: 1 hour accrued per 30 hours worked for first 30 days, 6.67 hours per month after.
• 14 paid company holidays, 2 floating holidays & birthday off
• Paid Family Leave: 15 days after 12 months of service for FMLA qualifying events
• Company provided EAP
• Company provided subsidy for health/fitness clubs & apps